Put a star on November 27.
If this Ole Miss teams ends up in the NCAA Tournament, Wednesday’s game against Penn State in Brooklyn, N.Y., will likely get some attention.
Down by 21 points, Ole Miss rallied for an amazing win at the Barclays Center, defeating Penn State, 74-72.
Bryce Williams’ free throws with 13.8 points remaining gave Ole Miss the final margin. Penn State’s Myles Dread missed a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left.
Ole Miss inbounded the ball to halfcourt and neither team could gain possession as the final time ticked off the clock.
Ole Miss improved to 5-1. Penn State lost for the first time and fell to 5-1.
Ole Miss trailed by 16 points at halftime. The Rebels pulled to within seven points midway through the second half, only to see the Nittany Lions extend their lead back to 14.
From there, Ole Miss dominated. Penn State scored just one field goal in the final 7:21 while Ole Miss played brilliantly on the offensive end and tenacious on the defensive end.
Breein Tyree led Ole Miss with 18 points and five rebounds. Blake Hinson added 17 points and six rebounds. Williams had 15 points and KJ Buffen added 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Lamar Stevens led Penn State with 22 points. Mike Watkins added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Myreon Jones had 12 points and five assists.
Here are 10 observations from the Rebels’ win:
1. As I said, this one was huge. Penn State is really good and the Lions will make noise in the Big Ten. This could very well end up being a sexy neutral-court win in March. Penn State entered Wednesday ranked No. 30 by kenpom.com. Ole Miss was No. 53. It’s too early to obsess over those things, but Wednesday’s win was potentially massive.
2. Credit to Tyree. He was awful in the first half but he played like the All-Southeastern Conference guard he is in the second half. He stayed within the offense, drove to the basket, made free throws, hit a critical jumper in the final minute and just willed Ole Miss to a win.
3. Williams is going to play more. He was 3-for-3 from the 3-point line and had a huge blocked shot in the final minute. He’s freakishly athletic and he played composed basketball.
4. With Ole Miss in foul trouble late (play that on repeat), Dude Collum had to play big minutes. I’m not sure he’s really ready for this level, but he played his ass off Wednesday and did the best he could. Stevens took him to school to give Penn State a 72-70 lead, but he worked hard on the play. Stevens is just really skilled.
5. Ole Miss committed 14 first-half turnovers. Woof. The Rebels committed one second-half turnover. Wow.
6. Ole Miss lost forward Luis Rodriguez for the next 6-8 weeks with a broken foot suffered Wednesday during shootaround. It’s a big loss for the Rebels’ depth and it’s losing a sophomore who has been very active on the defensive end and on the glass so far this season. Hinson started in Rodriguez’s place. His absence should mean more minutes for Williams and Austin Crowley moving forward.
7. Ole Miss once again got off to a slow start. The Rebels trailed Penn State, 17-6, with 12:55 left in the first half. It’s a terrible habit, but it’s one Ole Miss is falling into.
8. In the first half, the Rebels were simply awful. Shot selection was bad. They committed weak reaching fouls. The defense was sloppy. The offense had no flow. Kermit Davis had to burn his timeouts. It was a total disaster. I still can’t believe Ole Miss came back to win.
9. One possible explanation: Jeffrey Wright’s fiancee, Aleia Segars, informed me via Jeffrey that Ole Miss was down 20 when she started watching. So, I mean, maybe it was her good vibes?
10. Ole Miss plays Oklahoma State or Syracuse Friday night. The Cowboys entered tonight’s game 5-0. Syracuse is 4-1.
